Truth & Rumors: Country club con man faces 20 years

According to Mike Tolson of the Houston Chronicle, an area con artist used bogus on-course "handshake" deals to scam millions out of his country club cronies. The swindler, 67-year-old Billy Frank Davis, ran a ponzi scheme out of some of the cities' swankiest courses. Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to scamming $7.8 million out of 23 victims. Now, he faces a 20-year sentence.And, as Tolson reports, the trust Davis took advantage of was built on the links:

Many of those victimized most recently were golf buddies at Champions Golf Club home to Houston's largest collection of good players. Davis was a highly regarded member, so much so that he was given legendary co-founder Jimmy Demaret's old locker. He used to play with a regular group of some of the best -- scratch players who took pride in their ability, their club and their determination to play the game the right way, with no sneakiness, cheating, hustles or funny business.